SpongeBob Meets the Strangler
Characters * *Squidward Tentacles *King Neptune *Tattletale Strangler *Dark purple officer *Officer Nancy O'Malley *Officer Johnson *Yellow officer *Officer Slugfish *Eugene H. Krabs *Larry the Lobster *Orange construction worker *Tough Tavern Customers **Construction worker **Popeye fish *Purple construction worker *Dave Frank Percy Isabelle Scooter *Harold Bill Reginald Scott *Norma's daughter *Nat Peterson *Norton *Old Man Jenkins *Baby Peterson *Francis *French Narrator *Anchovies *Cara *Charlie *Dale *Dennis (citizen) *Frankie Billy *Henry-Bart *Nazz-Mimi *Taylor Fishbowl *Tom *Gus *Gary the Snail *Horace *Mrs. Puff *Nathiel Waters *Patrick Star *Pearl Krabs *Sandy Cheeks *Scooter *Shelly Fishbowl *Sheldon J. Plankton *Lloyd-Rich *Thaddeus Synopsis While on duty at the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob has a man arrested for littering. After calling the police on him, Squidward reveals that the stranger is, in fact, the Tattletale Strangler, an extremely dangerous criminal who murders anyone who reports him to the cops by strangling them. Seconds later, the Strangler escapes and begins on planning to kill SpongeBob. SpongeBob looks for a bodyguard for protection, but no one will take the job knowing that they would have to face the Strangler. He decides to go into hiding until the Strangler gives up on him, but then a man, who is obviously the Strangler using a fake mustache as a disguise, offers to take the job, intending to lead SpongeBob to a place where he can kill him with no other witnesses. SpongeBob, oblivious to his identity, hires him. However, SpongeBob needs to run some errands first. They are faced by every possible delay, and when they finally get to SpongeBob's house, SpongeBob realizes he lost his key and looks for it in his pockets for 20 minutes. The Strangler suggests entering through the window, but it is too high for him to reach, so the Strangler asks SpongeBob to climb on his shoulders. SpongeBob, now with sharp cleats on his shoes, does so, and his shoes go directly inside of the Strangler's eye sockets, much to the latter's pain. He runs around for six hours before finally pulling the shoes out. SpongeBob eventually remembers that the key was under his doormat, further infuriating him. The Strangler then locks the doors and starts to choke SpongeBob. The lights then turn on, revealing a "100% on-time average" surprise party. SpongeBob acts surprised, asking how they knew, with Patrick saying that they just did what the invitations tell them to do. The party goes on for a considerable length of time. The Strangler then attempts to choke him again, but the guests come back for a birthday party for SpongeBob. After the party ends and the two are finally alone, he tries again, but then Patrick shows up for some odd reason. The Strangler tries to get rid of him, saying that he could be the Strangler in disguise. Patrick then runs off thinking that he is the strangler, breaking through the wall and running off to turn himself in. SpongeBob is confused upon realizing that Patrick is the Strangler. The real Strangler, enraged, reveals his true identity and intentions by removing his disguise. However, SpongeBob still seemingly fails to understand, and is amazed at the Strangler being able to tear off his mustache without shaving cream. The latter yells at him that it is a fake he bought at the party store. The guests return upon overhearing the word "party." Annoyed and frustrated, the Strangler runs away, but SpongeBob goes after him, saying he still needs protection from the "bodyguard." He attempts to escape in a series of vehicles, but SpongeBob catches up every time. Eventually, the Strangler lands in the police department in a jail cell and SpongeBob learns the truth after he is directed to a wanted poster. As SpongeBob finally realizes the truth, the police congratulate him for putting the Strangler behind bars. The Strangler is happy to be away from SpongeBob at first, but then he soon finds himself with Patrick, who is in his cell, asking what he is in for. Production Music Release *This episode is available on The Seascape Capers DVD and VHS, Complete Third Season, Nick Picks Volume 2, Nickelodeon Double Feature, Nick Picks Box-Set (Vol, 1-3), The Third & Fourth Seasons, The Best 200 Episodes Ever, First 100 Episodes, and Complete Third Season DVDs. Reception * Trivia General *Although this episode premiered in , it was made in according to the credits. *This episode aired in Germany on Friday, , , before it aired in the United States.List of episodes (foreign)/languages/German *This episode and its sister, "Pranks a Lot," hold the record for the earliest an episode has played before its airing in the United States. They aired in South Korea on , , 721 days before they aired in the United States. *This episode was available on The Seascape Capers DVD and VHS 10 months before it aired on American television. *This episode premiered in Canada on Friday, , 2004.List of episodes (foreign)/countries/Canada *This episode takes place on , SpongeBob's birthday, which is celebrated in the middle of the episode but unspecified. **This is the second episode where SpongeBob's birthday is celebrated, the first being "I Had an Accident." However, in that episode, it is highly unlikely that it was actually his birthday, as Patrick and Sandy were just pulling off many attempts to get him to go outside. *There are many clues throughout the episode that suggest SpongeBob knew his bodyguard was the Strangler in disguise, including: **Him taking too long with his errands. **Staying outside his house for six hours and 20 minutes and sticking his cleats into the Strangler's eyes. **Throwing a party more than once. **Chasing him all the way back to jail and indirectly causing him to fall into a jail cell. **The biggest clue of them all is at one point he says "Don't mention it Strangler, oh, I mean bodyguard." *This episode reveals that Bikini Bottom has an airport. *In the Korean version, the police do not say anything about SpongeBob being a tattle-tale. *This is the second episode where SpongeBob tries different ways of getting into his house. The first is "Party Pooper Pants." **The scene in which SpongeBob realizes that his key was placed under his doormat the whole time after him and the Strangler's various attempts to get in is also a callback to the end of "Party Pooper Pants." *This is the second episode where a party is thrown at SpongeBob's house, the first being "Party Pooper Pants." **The flower wallpaper seen in SpongeBob's house when the parties are thrown is the same one seen in that episode. *The "20 minutes later" time card is the same design as the title card for "Graveyard Shift." *This is the fifth episode where the title card is animated, the first being "SB-129," the second being "Prehibernation Week," the third being "Idiot Box," and the fourth being "One Krabs Trash." *SpongeBob technically did not tattle on the Strangler since the police just appeared out of nowhere. SpongeBob simply tells him that it is against the law to litter and the police suddenly arrive. *The Strangler's number (555-1234) is the same as the accident company's number in "No Free Rides." *In the Polish dub, the episode's title is "SpongeBob kontra Dusiciel," which translates to "SpongeBob vs the Strangler." *The Tattletale Strangler later appears on a "Wanted" poster at the Bikini Bottom Police Department in "Call the Cops" and in-person attending SpongeBob's birthday party in "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout." The latter suggests that he reconciled with him and got out of jail, as he is no longer intent on hurting him. *This is the second episode where Patrick is arrested. The first is "Life of Crime." *In the Bahasa Indonesia version, the line "He's promised to strangle anyone who turns him in" is changed to "He swore to strangle anyone who mess with him." *Squidward is uncharacteristically excited to be at SpongeBob's parties. Errors *In Indonesia, instead of saying "paper towel," SpongeBob says "pepper towel." *Sometimes, accidentally lists this as "Litter Bug" instead of its normal name. Also for some reason, it says the episode originally aired on , . This air date is technically false. This error also happened when SpongeBob was played on Viva in the UK. *When SpongeBob checks in for work, below the clock are more than two slips, despite there being only two employees. *After SpongeBob puts in his slip, the clock arms stop moving. *When SpongeBob leaves the Krusty Krab for litter bug patrol, the Krusty Krab sign and the road leading to the restaurant are missing. *When SpongeBob goes out of the Krusty Krab to clean up litter, for a couple of seconds his pants legs are black. In the next shot, they are brown. *When Squidward shows SpongeBob the picture with the Strangler on it, the number he is holding says "122068," but when SpongeBob shows Mr. Krabs the picture of the Strangler, the number is "021066." *When SpongeBob shows Mr. Krabs the picture of the Strangler, the name "TattleTale Strangler" is covered in censor bars. This error continues when SpongeBob shows the people the "Wanted" sign. *After SpongeBob says he has to run some errands and the Strangler gets mad, the latter's white undershirt disappears. *When SpongeBob is in front of his house looking for his key, he does not have a mat, but when he gets the key, the mat is there. *When SpongeBob and Strangler enter SpongeBob's house and the latter closes the door, the light on the former's face makes it appear as though two doors were closing. *Pearl is shown to be smaller than Larry in this episode, when in most episodes she is shown to be bigger. *When SpongeBob arrives with the Strangler inside his house, a bamboo wallpaper is up, but when the party is revealed, the wallpaper changes to green with flowers. When the party members leave, it changes back to the old wallpaper, then back to the flower wallpaper when the party members arrive again. *If SpongeBob sent out invitations, it would not be a surprise party. *Patrick is seen at both parties, but after the first party, Patrick is not seen in the line or said "goodbye" to by SpongeBob. *The Strangler gets through the airport and into the airplane without being noticed by anyone. *The Strangler has 10 fully functional separate fingers, similar to Dr. Gill Gilliam, who has eight, as well as SpongeBob himself. However, in later scenes his fingers are replaced by a fin. *In the scene where the officers are chaining the Strangler up, his eyes are chained. In the next scene he appears in, the chains are gone. Video References es:Bob Esponja conoce al Estrangulador nl:SpongeBob en de wurger pl:SpongeBob kontra Dusiciel pt-br:Bob Esponja Encontra o Estrangulador ru:Губка Боб и маньяк-душитель